UAE bank assets surge to $762bn in August

ABU DHABI, September 24, 2018

The UAE gross bank assets amounted to Dh2.8 trillion ($762 billion) by the end of August 2018, 4 per cent up from Dh2.694 trillion by the end of December 2017, a media report said.

Gross credit increased to around Dh1.633 trillion by the end of August, a growth of 3.3 per cent from Dh1.58 trillion during December last year, reported Emirates news agency Wam, citing Central Bank of UAE statistics released yesterday (September 23).

Domestic loans received by the private sector rose from Dh1.086 trillion in December 2017 to around Dh1.123 trillion by the end of August, with credit provided to individuals amounting to Dh339 billion by the end of August from Dh337.5 billion from December.

Total deposits amounted to Dh1.703 t trillion, during August, an increase of 4.6 per cent of Dh76 billion from Dh1.627 trillion in December 2017.

The ratio of total banks' eligible liquid assets- which consist of cash in hand, liquid assets at CBUAE and eligible bonds/sukuks as prescribed by regulation 33/2015 & Basel Principles but excludes interbank positions- hit 16.8 to total assets.

The growth recorded in gross credit reflects the robust financial solvency enjoyed by UAE banks as a result of the significant improvement recorded across all operating indicators during the first eight months of the year.